Beyond van Gogh

Thursday, Heather and I joined Sandy, Heather’s sister, at the Halifax Exhibition Centre for “Beyond van Gogh.”

Sandy had been previously with her students from Kings Edgehill School. My first impression of the building, in an industrial park, was not great.

However, once inside, we experienced three levels of immersion. The first was a focus on Vincent van Gogh, his life and exchanges with his brother, Theo. Various quotations could be viewed through empty picture frames. The second level was a small room depicting a waterfall. The final main hall was a full three-dimensional immersion experience of the themes which were vital to van Gogh’s art. This included scenes from rural life, characters, landscapes, flowers and the starry night. Seamlessly, projected on the walls, floor and ceiling, with accompanying music.

The message seemed clear. Beauty is all around us, especially in the natural environment. A painting is a “still life” within a picture frame.

Waking up the next morning, it was hard to ignore the dawn light, shining on the oak leaves, moving in the wind. or to look up through the skylight to again see the trees, with a backdrop of clouds, moving across the blue sky.

I noticed two other aspects of the exhibition. There was very little intellectualisation of the art. To place it within its historical or geographical context. The emphasis was on colour and movement. There was also little explanation of the underlying projection technology.

At the exit, the gift shop contained many common items, e.g. puzzles, key chains, prints, T-shirts adorned with familiar van Gogh images of sunflowers, corn fields, self-portraits and starry nights.

Afterwards, it was hard to drive back out through the grey, suburban concrete of Halifax — very different geography than the countryside we find in rural Nova Scotia.

Postscript

Saturday, we went to Alan Syliboy and the Thundermakers concert at the Macdonald Museum in Middleton.

It was great to go and listen to live music. We saw friends for the first time in several years. Syliboy’s art and music proved an excellent complement to the van Gogh exhibition.

Acknowledgements

Sandy Stewart for making the trip to Halifax. Heather shared the experience. Edward added the graphics. Congratulations to Jane Nicholson on receiving the Queens Platinum Jubilee Medal for her contribution to the Community.